Hobgoblin (Marvel)
' Hobgoblin' is the supervillain identity of Jason Philip Macendale who goes by the name Jason Philips. He constantly attempted to take over the criminal underworld. He is one of Spider-Man's most notorious villains as well as a constant pain to Kingpin. He is also partially responsible for the creation of Green Goblin. Hobgoblin is a homicidal sociopath with delusions of grandeur. It is unknown if Jason was like this before the Goblin persona or if the power he was given corrupted him. He has little regard for the life of other people and would gladly take anyones if it meant furthering his own ends. This was how Norman was able to manipulate Jason into becoming the Hobgoblin showing he was at least somewhat disturbed before his alternate persona. Along those lines, he cares little for those around him. He saw marrying Felicia Hardy as merely an accomplishment like a trophy. He liked Felicia's money and status but not the woman herself. Even close allies, such as spies he has in Kingpin's empire, mean little after he has gotten what he wants. Above all, Hobgoblin desires power. He despised being an ordinary criminal and hated the thought of a normal life. He is incredibly jealous of Kingpin, who has everything he wants such as the power to manipulate anyone around him. While he is cruel and possibly insane, Hobgoblin is quite intelligent. He is able to manipulate people and knows when to take advantage of opportunities when they arise. It is also likely that given the opportunity he could have run Kingpin's empire. He also has impressive computer hacking skills. He was able to quickly and seemingly effortlessly make a virus that destroyed vast amounts of data while creating a computer replica of himself. Role in Ultima In Ultima, Hobgoblin was freed from Blackgate Prison by a disguised Loki and Norman Osborn, who recruited him to the Organization as a member of the Nu Sinister Six faction in the Neo Masters of Evil. Hobgoblin doesn't care much for serving a Norman Osborn who's much more ruthless and cunning than the one he's used to. Still, his backstabbing nature makes him a liability to both Doctor Octopus and Padro Lodo, who's given him the job of hunting down Numericals behind Alejandro's back. But Padro Lodo knows another Hobgoblin from the mainstream comics universe who might be even more competent than Jason Macendale is...Roderick Kingsly, the original Hobgoblin, who is currently in the form of his Spectacular Spiderman counterpart. To give you an idea on what Kingsley could do, here's his entry from "It's Clobbering Time!" to give you the basics... "I've always liked the Hobgoblin. The first one, I mean, not the one who got turned into a demon and bruised Ghost Rider's fist with his face for a good part of the nineties. Or poor Ned Leeds, who got shot by the Foreigner's goons. No, I like the first one. The one who was a fashion designer in his secret identity (you heard me). Roderick Kingsley. That's who should be in charge of the Marvel Universe these days, not Norman "I once stabbed myself with my own glider" Osborn. The Hobgoblin had connections on both sides of the law, in every odd corner of society. A corporate monster and an economic genius, with enough technological know-how to maintain his equipment and improve on it. He out-thought Spider-Man on a variety of occasions, unveiling plans within plans. Two steps ahead and three to the side. Then, when things were getting too hot, he faked his own death. Too, he was a unique sort of super-villain...he wasn't doing it for the money (name-checked fashion designers have more money than God, after all), or for revenge (he went out of his way to avoid the super-hero community), or even for power, really. He was doing it because it was fun. It was a game to build his empire up and then, when he got bored, engineer its downfall. Imagine that sort of character in Norman Osborn's current position. With Osborn, there's no question of what's going to happen. The crazy invariably leaks out. It's a lazy storytelling device, and, while effective, it's been done before (with Osborn in particular). But consider the Hobgoblin. He could engineer an alliance between the big bads without coming across as patently out of his depth as Osborn was, because, frankly, the Hobgoblin would know just how out of depth he was and he would roll with it. Flattery and ingenuity as opposed to bluster and assumptions. It's the difference between the cold-blooded sociopath and the hot-blooded psychopath. Granted, Norman Osborn makes sense given his recent importance in the Marvel Universe, but why did they have to pick Norman for that role in the first place? Lex Luthor he wasn't, despite the similarities. Then, I'm one of those people who thought the Green Goblin was more effective dead than alive. Just like Gwen Stacy. Or Uncle Ben. But the Hobgoblin...ah, he could have done some interesting things. Such potential, sadly squandered. What could have been." (Cited from Villains with Potential: Hobgoblin) And what could have been is starting to become reality as Norman Osborn and his now separated alter-ego, Green Goblin, are losing their grip on their part of the Organization due to the loss in the comics. Where Osborn cuts out...that's where Kingsley cuts in...right after he deals with one more Hobgoblin imposter to take care first in the comics. Category:Antagonists Category:Organization Category:Sinister Six Category:Neo Masters of Evil Category:The Hand